Information providing apparatus and information providing system

ABSTRACT

An information providing apparatus includes a moving unit, an obtaining unit, and a presenting unit. The moving unit causes the information providing apparatus to move toward a specified destination or along a predetermined route. The obtaining unit obtains information associated with a user located around a current position of the information providing apparatus in accordance with moving of the moving unit. The presenting unit presents the information obtained by the obtaining unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/692,577 filed on Aug. 31, 2017, which is basedon and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 2017-048195 filed Mar. 14, 2017. The disclosures of each of theabove are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus andan information providing system.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided aninformation providing apparatus including a moving unit, an obtainingunit, and a presenting unit. The moving unit causes the informationproviding apparatus to move toward a specified destination or along apredetermined route. The obtaining unit obtains information associatedwith a user located around a current position of the informationproviding apparatus in accordance with moving of the moving unit. Thepresenting unit presents the information obtained by the obtaining unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an information providing systemaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the hardware configuration of a self-mobileinformation providing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the hardware configuration of a managementserver according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the management server accordingto the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of information providingprocessing executed by the information providing system according to theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates a state of the self-mobile information providingapparatus when passing by a development department and that when passingby a planning department;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another example of informationproviding processing executed by the information providing systemaccording to the exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a state of the self-mobile information providingapparatus while moving toward a user made a request and that when theself-mobile information providing apparatus has reached the user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An information providing system 10 according to an exemplary embodimentwill be described below with reference to FIG. 1. The informationproviding system 10 includes a self-mobile information providingapparatus 20, an advertising server 40, a management server 60,computers 80-1 through 80-5 (hereinafter simply called a “computer 80”or “computers 80”) used by users 70-1 through 70-3 (hereinafter simplycalled a “user 70” or “users 70”). The above-described elements areplaced in a relatively large area (hereinafter called a “workplace101”), such as an office building floor. The self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 and the computers 80 are connected to themanagement server 60 via a network 50 or an access point 30 installed ona wall or a ceiling. The management server 60 is connected to theadvertising server 40 via the network 50 (the Internet).

The self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will be describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of thehardware configuration of the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20. The self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 is aself-mobile service providing robot, such as a self-mobile vendingmachine or a self-mobile printer. The self-mobile vending machineprovides drinks, such as tea and coffee, in response to a request from auser 70. The self-mobile printer performs printing of a document inresponse to a request from a user 70. A description will be given below,assuming that the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 is aself-mobile vending machine that provides drinks to the users 70.

As shown in FIG. 2, the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20includes a control microprocessor 201, a memory 202, a storage device203, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), acommunication interface 204, a camera 205, a microphone 206, a speaker207, a moving device 208, a display device 209, and a drink providingdevice 210. These elements are connected to a control bus 211.

The control microprocessor 201 centrally controls operations of theindividual elements of the self-mobile information providing apparatus20, based on a control program stored in the storage device 203. Thememory 202 temporarily stores images captured by the camera 205, voicedata recorded by the microphone 206, information concerning a currentposition detected by a current position detector of the moving device208, and information concerning a request to provide a drink from a user70, for example. The storage device 203 stores the control program forcontrolling the individual elements of the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20. The communication interface 204 performscommunication control for allowing the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 to communicate with the management server 60 via the accesspoint 30.

The camera 205 captures images of the workplace 100 and images of facesand behavior of the users 70, and stores the captured images in thememory 202. The microphone 206 detects the voice of the users 70 andstores (records) it in the memory 202. Instead of directly storing thevoice of the users 70, the voice of the users 70 may be interpretedfirst and the content of a dialog may be stored in the memory 202. Thespeaker 207 outputs voice generated by an information presenter, whichwill be discussed later, of the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20. The moving device 208 includes a tire, a motor, adirection controller, and a current position detector (neither of themare shown). The moving device 208 causes the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 to move to a specified destination or along apredetermined route, based on moving control information generated by amoving controller, which will be discussed later. The display device 209is constituted by a liquid crystal display provided on a side or topsurface of a housing of the self-mobile information providing apparatus20. The display device 209 displays images and video provided by theinformation presenter, which will be discussed later. The drinkproviding device 210 includes a drink storage, a drink distributor, adrink container (a cup, for example) provider, and a warmer-and-cooler(neither of them are shown).

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20. As a result of the control microprocessor 201executing the control program stored in the storage device 203, theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 functions as a movingcontroller 220, a drink providing controller 221, an information storageunit 222, an information register 223, a subject specifying unit 224, aninformation obtaining unit 225, an information presenter 226, and adrink providing request receiver 227, as shown in FIG. 3.

The moving controller 220 controls the moving device 208 so that theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will move around withinthe workplace 100 along a predetermined route if there is no request toprovide a drink from any user 70. More specifically, the movingcontroller 220 obtains route information stored in the storage device203 and compares a current position detected by the current positiondetector with a predetermined route indicated by the route information.The moving controller 220 then controls the motor and the directioncontroller of the moving device 208 and causes them to move theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20. Alternatively, themoving controller 220 may control the moving device 208 so that theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will wait at apredetermined position within the workplace 100 if there is no requestto provide a drink from any user 70, and in response to a request from auser 70, the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will move tothe user 70 as a destination and stop at this destination. The movingcontroller 220 may also control the moving device 208 so that theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will return to thepredetermined position after it has finished providing a drink to theuser 70.

The moving controller 220 may alternatively control the moving device208 in the following manner by combining the above-described controlapproaches. The moving controller 220 controls the moving device 208 sothat the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will move alongthe predetermined route within the workplace 100 if there is no requestto provide a drink from any user 70, and in response to a request from auser 70, the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 willseparate from the predetermined route and move to the user 70. Themoving controller 220 may also control the moving device 208 so that theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will return to thepredetermined route and restart moving around within the workplace 100after it has finished providing a drink.

The drink providing controller 221 performs control so that the drinkproviding device 210 will provide a drink to a user 70. Morespecifically, the drink providing controller 221 causes thewarmer-and-cooler of the drink providing device 210 to keep drinkswithin the drink storage at a predetermined temperature. When theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 moves to a user 70 inresponse to a request to provide a drink and stops at this user 70, thedrink providing controller 221 causes the drink providing device 210 totake a container from the drink container provider, to pour a drinkordered by the user 70 from the drink storage into the container, and toprovide the drink to the user 70.

The information storage unit 222 stores first information and secondinformation. The first information is information associated with users(individuals or groups). The first information includes internalinformation, such as company newsletters for specific departments orspecific targets and schedules associated with specific individuals(users 70). The internal information is registered by the informationregister 223, which will be discussed later. More specifically,information intended for a specific user 70 or intended targetinformation, such as “for men”, “for women”, “for newcomers”, “fordevelopment”, and “for planning”, is appended to the first information.The first information is stored in the information storage unit 222 inassociation with specific users.

The second information is information that is not associated with anyuser. The second information includes information for unspecifiedpeople, such as advertisements provided by the advertising server 40. Inthe following exemplary embodiment, a description will be given,assuming that the first information is internal information, such as acompany newsletter or a schedule, and the second information is generaladvertisements. In the present invention, however, the first informationand the second information are not restricted to these examples. Thefirst information may include an advertisement or news that isassociated with a user, and the second information may include generalinformation for all members of a company that is not associated with anyspecific user.

The first information and the second information are stored in theinformation storage unit 222 in the form of an image file, a documentfile of a portable document format (PDF), a document file created bypresentation software, or a video file. The first information and thesecond information may alternatively be stored in the informationstorage unit 222 in a webpage uniform resource locator (URL) format. Theinformation storage unit 222 also stores a plan of the workplace 100, inparticular, the seating arrangement of the users 70 and the seatingarrangement of the departments within the workplace 100, and informationfor specifying individual users, such as face images of the users 70.

The information storage unit 222 also stores settings information. Thesettings information includes information indicating how often(frequency) or how long (duration) each of the first information and thesecond information is presented or the ratio of the first information tothe second information in terms of the presentation frequency or thepresentation duration. The settings information also includesinformation indicating which item of information will be presented amongitems of first information and items of second information stored in theinformation storage unit 222. The presentation frequency or thepresentation duration may be set in the form of the ratio of internalinformation to advertisements instead of the first information to thesecond information. These settings indicated by the settings informationare set by the advertising server 40, the management server 60, and thecomputers 80 used by the users 70.

The information register 223 stores and registers the first informationand the second information provided by the advertising server 40, themanagement server 60, and the computers 80 used by the users 70 in theinformation storage unit 222. The information register 223 appends theabove-described intended target information to the first information andregisters the first information in the information storage unit 222 inassociation with users.

The subject specifying unit 224 specifies a user 70 located around theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 in a dynamic manner inaccordance with the movement of the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20. More specifically, the subject specifying unit 224specifies a user 70 around the current position of the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 indicated by the current positioninformation obtained by the moving device 208. To put it morespecifically, the subject specifying unit 224 compares the currentposition detected by the current position detector of the moving device208 with the plan of the workplace 100 stored in the information storageunit 222, and then specifies a user 70 located around the currentposition. In this case, the user 70 is specified as an individual or agroup (a department located in an area within which the current positionis included). Alternatively, the subject specifying unit 224 may specifya specific user 70 by comparing an image of the user 70 captured by thecamera 205 of the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 withinformation concerning the users 70 stored in the information storageunit 222. The subject specifying unit 224 may specify a user 70 aroundthe current position as an individual or as a group, such as adevelopment department or a planning department. If the subjectspecifying unit 224 specifies a user 70 as a group, it may specify auser 70 as a department to which the user 70 belongs, such as adevelopment department or a planning department, or the type of user 70,such as a man, a woman, or a newcomer.

The information obtaining unit 225 obtains information associated with auser 70 located around the current position of the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 in accordance with the movement ofthe moving device 208. More specifically, the information obtaining unit225 obtains information associated with a user 70 specified by thesubject specifying unit 224. When obtaining information, the informationobtaining unit 225 refers to the settings information stored in theinformation storage unit 222 so as to identify which type of informationwill subsequently be obtained, and then obtains this information andoutputs it to the information presenter 226. The information obtainingunit 225 may obtain, as well as the first information associated withthe user 70, the second information that is not associated with the user70 located around the current position or a user 70 made a request toprovide a drink service, based on the above-described settingsinformation. The information obtaining unit 225 may alternativelyexclude the second information that is not associated with the user 70,and obtain only the first information associated with the user 70. Ifnecessary, the information obtaining unit 225 may obtain the firstinformation including internal information, such as a scheduleassociated with a specific user 70 or a specific department, from themanagement server 60. In response to a request to provide a drinkservice from a user 70, the information obtaining unit 225 may obtainthe first information associated with this user 70.

The information presenter 226 presents information obtained by theinformation obtaining unit 225 from the information storage unit 222.That is, the information presenter 226 displays or plays back theobtained information to a user 70 by using the display device 209 or thespeaker 207. If the information obtaining unit 225 obtains only thefirst information, the information presenter 226 presents only the firstinformation. If the information obtaining unit 225 obtains both of thefirst information and the second information (obtains at the same timeor different times), the information presenter 226 presents the firstinformation and the second information in a mixed manner. That is,instead of repeatedly displaying or playing back only the firstinformation or only the second information, the information presenter226 displays or plays back the first information for a predeterminedtime and then displays or plays back the second information for apredetermined time, based on the settings information stored in theinformation storage unit 222. The information presenter 226 may displaythe first information and the second information on the screen of thedisplay device 209 at the same time. In this exemplary embodiment,however, the first information and the second information are displayedseparately at different times.

The information presenter 226 may present the first information and thesecond information at a predetermined ratio in terms of the presentationfrequency or the presentation duration, such as 3:1, based on thesettings information stored in the information storage unit 222. Forexample, presenting of the first information and the second informationat a predetermined frequency ratio of 3:1 means that while or afterpresenting three company newsletters indicated by the first information,one advertisement indicated by the second information is presented.Presenting of the first information and the second information at apredetermined duration ratio of 3:1 means that while or after displayingor playing back a company newsletter indicated by the first informationfor 45 seconds, an advertisement indicated by the second information isdisplayed or played back for 15 seconds.

The information presenter 226 may adjust the manner in which informationis presented in accordance with the operation of the moving device 208.For example, the information presenter 226 may display or play back thesecond information when the moving device 208 is moving and display orplay back the first information when the moving device 208 is at astandstill. The information presenter 226 may display or play back thesecond information when the self-mobile information providing apparatus20 is moving toward a user 70 in response to a request to provide adrink service from this user 70, and may display or play back the firstinformation associated with this user 70 when the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 reaches the user 70. The informationpresenter 226 may alternatively display or play back the firstinformation associated with the user 70 when the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 reaches a position separated from the user 70 bya predetermined distance.

The drink providing request receiver 227 receives a request to provide adrink service from a user 70. That is, the drink providing requestreceiver 227 determines whether a request to provide a drink service hasbeen made from a user 70. If the drink providing request receiver 227receives a request from a user 70, it provides position informationconcerning the position of this user 70 to the moving controller 220 andalso provides information concerning a drink ordered by the user 70 tothe drink providing controller 221.

The advertising server 40 of this exemplary embodiment is managed by thesystem provider of the information providing system 10 of this exemplaryembodiment. If the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 is aself-mobile vending machine, the advertising server 40 is a server runby a beverage providing company which leases this self-mobile vendingmachine to a system administrator based on a measured-rate billing planor a flat-rate billing plan. The advertising server 40 distributesbeverage-related advertisements and other advertisements to theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20.

The system provider of the information providing system 10 startsadvertisement creating application software by using the advertisingserver 40 and operates a user interface to create or edit variousadvertisements. Advertisements are created or edited in the form of animage file, a PDF document file, a document file created by presentationsoftware, or a video file, and are stored in an advertisement storageunit (not shown) of the advertising server 40.

Advertisements are stored as the second information that is notassociated with any user 70. However, an individual advertisement may beappended with a tag, such as “for men” or “for women”, and may be storedin the advertisement storage unit as the first information associatedwith specific users 70.

The system provider sends selected items of information among items offirst information and items of second information, such asadvertisements stored in the advertisement storage unit, to theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 and registers themtherein. The system provider then accesses the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 by using the advertising server 40, selects itemsof information to be provided to a user 70 among the items of firstinformation and the items of second information which are registered inthe self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 from the advertisingserver 40, and stores the selecting results in the information storageunit 222 of the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 assettings information. More specifically, the system provider determineswhether to provide an individual item of information stored in theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 to a user 70 or sets atwhich frequency ratio or at which duration ratio a registered item ofinformation will be presented, and stores the selecting or settingresults in the information storage unit 222 as the settings information.

The management server 60 of this exemplary embodiment will be describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The management server 60 ismanaged by the system administrator of the information providing system10 of this exemplary embodiment. If the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 is a self-mobile vending machine, the managementserver 60 is installed in a company or an office, such as a salesoffice, which leases this self-mobile vending machine from a beverageproviding company, which is the system provider of the informationproviding system 10. The management server 60 creates or edits internalinformation, such as company newsletters and schedules, and registers itin the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20, which is aself-mobile vending machine.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the hardware configuration of themanagement server 60. As shown in FIG. 4, the management server 60includes a control microprocessor 601, a memory 602, a storage device603, a communication interface 604, a display device 605, and an inputdevice 606. These elements are connected to a control bus 607.

The control microprocessor 601 centrally controls operations of theindividual elements of the management server 60, based on a controlprogram stored in the storage device 603. The memory 602 temporarilystores internal information created or being edited by aninternal-information creator-and-editor, which will be discussed later.

The storage device 603 is an HDD or an SSD, and stores the controlprogram for controlling the management server 60. The storage device 603also includes an internal information storage which stores internalinformation, such as company newsletters and personal or departmentschedules. The internal information storage will be discussed later.

The communication interface 604 performs communication control forallowing the management server 60 to send and receive various items ofdata to and from the advertising server 40 via the network 50 (theInternet) and to send and receive various items of data to and from theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 and the computers 80 usedby the users 70 via the access point 30.

The display device 605 is constituted by a liquid crystal display, aplasma display, or an organic electroluminescent display, for example,and displays internal information, such as company newsletters andpersonal or department schedules, created or edited by theinternal-information creator-and-editor, which will be discussed later.The input device 606 includes a keyboard and a mouse, for example, andis operated by a user 70 for creating or editing internal information,such as company newsletters and personal or department schedules, byusing the internal-information creator-and-editor, which will bediscussed later.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the management server 60. As aresult of the control microprocessor 601 executing the control programstored in the storage device 603, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 functions as an internal-information creator-and-editor620, an internal information storage unit 621, an internal informationregister 622, and a presenting information setter 623.

The internal-information creator-and-editor 620 is used by the systemadministrator of the information providing system 10 to create or editinternal information, such as a company newsletter, by using the inputdevice 606. Internal information is created or edited in the form of animage file, a PDF document file, a data file, such as a personal ordepartment schedule, created by personal information managementapplication software, a document file created by presentation software,or a video file, and is stored in the internal information storage unit621, which will be discussed below.

The internal information storage unit 621 stores various items ofinternal information created or edited by the internal-informationcreator-and-editor 620 in various file formats. Each item of internalinformation is stored in the internal information storage unit 621 asthe first information associated with a user 70. More specifically, eachitem of internal information is appended with intended targetinformation, such as “for men”, “for women”, “for newcomers”, “fordevelopment”, and “for planning”, so as to be associated with a user 70.Each item of internal information may be appended with only one item ofintended target information or with plural items of intended targetinformation. Some items of internal information may be stored in theinternal information storage unit 621 as the second information that isnot associated with any user 70.

The internal information storage unit 621 also stores personal ordepartment schedules created by the above-described personal informationmanagement application software. The personal or department schedulessynchronize with personal or department schedules stored in a personalinformation storage unit (not shown) of a computer 80. In the personalor department schedules, schedules are stored by individuals ordepartments, and settings information is also stored. The settingsinformation indicates which items of information in each schedule willbe provided or will not be provided, and if a certain item ofinformation is provided, to which user or department it will be provided(provision range) and how often (frequency) or how long (duration) itwill be provided.

The system administrator operates the input device 606 to selectinternal information among items of first information and items ofsecond information stored in the internal information storage unit 621.The internal information register 622 sends such internal information tothe self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 and registers theinternal information therein.

The presenting information setter 623 accesses the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20, selects items of information to beprovided to a user 70 among items of first information and items ofsecond information which are registered in the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 from the management server 60, and stores theselecting results in the information storage unit 222 of the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 as settings information. Morespecifically, the presenting information setter 623 determines whetherto provide an individual item of information registered in theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 to a user 70 or sets atwhich frequency ratio or at which duration ratio a registered item ofinformation will be presented, and stores the selecting or settingresults in the information storage unit 222 as the settings information.

Personal information management application software is installed withina computer 80 used by a user 70 in the workplace 100 for business use.In a storage unit (not shown) of the computer 80, personal or departmentschedules created or edited by the personal information managementapplication software are stored. The personal or department schedulessynchronize with the personal or department schedules stored in theinternal information storage unit 621 of the management server 60. Theuser 70 starts the personal information management application softwareby using the computer 80 to create or edit a personal or departmentschedule by using the input device (not shown), and then stores it asthe first information in association with a specific individual or aspecific department.

The user 70 selects and sets which items of information will be providedamong the stored personal or department schedules by using the computer80. More specifically, the user 70 selects and sets which items ofinformation will be provided or will not be provided, and if a certainitem of information is provided, to which user or department it will beprovided (provision range) and at which frequency ratio or at whichduration ratio it will be provided. The user 70 may access theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 by using the computer 80,select items of information to be provided to a user 70 or a departmentamong items of first information and items of second information whichare registered in the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20from the management server 60 and the computer 80, and store theselecting results in the information storage unit 222 of the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 as settings information. In thiscase, the user 70 determines whether to provide an individual item ofinformation stored in the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20or sets at which frequency ratio or at which duration ratio a registereditem of information will be provided, and stores the selecting orsetting results in the information storage unit 222 as the settingsinformation.

As a result of the user 70 operating the computer 80, the computer 80displays a list of drinks provided by the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 on a display of the computer 80. When the user 70selects a drink from the list, the computer 80 sends a request toprovide a drink to the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20via an interface (not shown). The request includes informationconcerning the user 70 and the type of drink ordered by the user 70.

An example of information providing processing executed by theinformation providing system 10 according to this exemplary embodimentwill be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. Inthe example shown in FIG. 6, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 presents information, such as advertisements and internalinformation, while moving around within the workplace 100.

If there is no request to provide a drink from any user 70, in stepS601, by comparing the current position of the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 detected by the current position detector of themoving device 208 with a predetermined route stored in the storagedevice 203, the moving controller 220 controls the moving device 208 sothat the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 will move aroundwithin the workplace 100 along the predetermined route. Then, in stepS602, the information obtaining unit 225 refers to the settingsinformation stored in the information storage unit 222 and compares thesettings information with information which is being presented by theinformation presenter 226, and then determines whether information to besubsequently obtained and presented to users 70 is an advertisement.

If it is found in step S602 that information to be subsequently obtainedand presented is an advertisement, the process proceeds to step S603. Instep S603, the information obtaining unit 225 obtains the advertisementstored in the information storage unit 222, and the informationpresenter 226 displays or plays back the advertisement to the users 70by using the display device 209 or the speaker 207. The process thenproceeds to step S610.

If it is found in step S602 that information to be subsequently obtainedand presented is not an advertisement, the process proceeds to stepS604. In step S604, the information obtaining unit 225 obtains thecurrent position detected by the current position detector of the movingdevice 208. Then, in step S605, the subject specifying unit 224 comparesthe current position with the plan of the workplace 100 stored in theinformation storage unit 222, and determines whether users 70 around thecurrent position belong to the development department. Thisdetermination is made based on whether the current position is locatedwithin the area of the development department.

If it is found in step S605 that the users 70 around the currentposition belong to the development department, the process proceeds tostep S606. In step S606, the information obtaining unit 225 obtainsinternal information appended with intended target information “fordevelopment” among items of first information stored in the informationstorage unit 222, and the information presenter 226 displays or playsback the obtained information for the users 70 by using the displaydevice 209 or the speaker 207. The process then proceeds to step S610.

The state of the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 in stepS606 is illustrated in (A) of FIG. 7. The self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 is passing by the development department withinthe workplace 100, and internal information intended for the developmentdepartment “Mr. Yamada has developed a new robot” is being displayed onthe display device 209 of the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20.

If it is found in step S605 that the users 70 around the currentposition do not belong to the development department, the processproceeds to step S607. In step S607, the subject specifying unit 224determines whether the users 70 around the current position belong tothe planning department, based on whether the current position islocated within the area of the planning department. If it is found instep S607 that the users 70 around the current position belong to theplanning department, the process proceeds to step S608. In step S608,the information obtaining unit 225 obtains internal information appendedwith intended target information “for planning” among items of firstinformation stored in the information storage unit 222, and theinformation presenter 226 displays or plays back the obtainedinformation for the users 70 by using the display device 209 or thespeaker 207. The process then proceeds to step S610.

The state of the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 in stepS608 is illustrated in (B) of FIG. 7. The self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 is passing by the planning department within theworkplace 100, and internal information intended for the planningdepartment “for members in planning dept.: a planning meeting will startat 10 a.m. tomorrow” is being displayed on the display device 209 of theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20.

If it is found in step S607 that the users 70 around the currentposition do not belong to the planning department, the process proceedsto step S609. In step S609, the subject specifying unit 224 determinesthat the subject located around the current position is a member whodoes not belong to any particular group. The information obtaining unit225 then obtains general information that is not associated with anyspecific user 70, such as a company newsletter, among items ofinformation stored in the information storage unit 222. The informationpresenter 226 then displays or plays back the obtained information forthe subject by using the display device 209 or the speaker 207. Theprocess then proceeds to step S610.

In step S610, the information presenter 226 finishes presentinginformation to the users 70 because the predetermined duration time setby the settings information stored in the information storage unit 222has elapsed. Then, the process returns to step S601, and the movingcontroller 220 controls the moving device 208 so that the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 will restart moving around within theworkplace 100 along the predetermined route and at the same time presentthe first information or the second information.

In the above-described example, the department of the users 70 locatedaround the current position is determined based on the current positiondetected by the current position detector of the moving device 208.Alternatively, the subject specifying unit 224 may analyze an image ofthe users 70 captured by the camera 205 and determine the types (gender,for example) of users 70. More specifically, the subject specifying unit224 may specify the users 70 based on the features of the image, such aswhether the users 70 are constituted by more men than women or morewomen than men. If most of the users 70 are found to be men, theinformation obtaining unit 225 obtains internal information appendedwith intended target information “for men” among items of firstinformation stored in the information storage unit 222, and theinformation presenter 226 presents the obtained internal information tothe users 70. If most of the users 70 are found to be women, theinformation obtaining unit 225 obtains internal information appendedwith intended target information “for women”, and the informationpresenter 226 presents the obtained internal information to the users70.

In the above-described example, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 moves around within the workplace 100 while presenting thesecond information, such as advertisements, and the first informationassociated with a particular department, such as a company newsletter,in a mixed manner. Alternatively, when passing by a department or agroup, the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 may presentnews or an advertisement (first information) associated with thisdepartment or group.

Another example of the information providing processing executed by theinformation providing system 10 according to this exemplary embodimentwill be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8. Inthe example shown in FIG. 8, if there is no request to provide a drinkfrom any user 70, the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20waits at a predetermined position (home position). In response to arequest to provide a drink from a user 70, the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 starts to move toward this user 70 as adestination and presents the second information, such as anadvertisement while moving. When the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 reaches the user 70, it presents the first informationassociated with the user 70, such as a schedule of this user 70. Afterfinishing providing a drink, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 starts to move and again presents the second information,such as an advertisement, while returning to the predetermined position(home position).

In step S801 of FIG. 8, the self-mobile information providing apparatus20 waits at a predetermined position (home position) within theworkplace 100. In step S802, the drink providing request receiver 227 ofthe self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 determines whether auser 70 within the workplace 100 has made a request to provide a drinkby using the computer 80, that is, whether the drink providing requestreceiver 227 has received an order from a user 70.

The user 70 can order a drink in the following manner. The user 70operates drink order application software installed in the computer 80of the user 70 or opens a drink order webpage by using an Internetbrowser, displays a list of drinks, and selects a drink by operating theinput device (not shown). The computer 80 then sends a request includinginformation concerning the user 70, the position of the user 70, and thetype of drink ordered by the user 70 to the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 via the access point 30. Upon receiving thisrequest, the drink providing request receiver 227 determines that it hasreceived an order from a user 70. A user 70 may order a drink bybeckoning instead of operating the computer 80. In this case, if animage or video captured by the camera 205 of the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 shows that a user 70 is beckoning, the drinkproviding request receiver 227 determines that the user 70 has made arequest to provide a drink.

If it is found in step S802 that there is no request to provide a drinkfrom any user 70, the process returns to step S801, and the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 continues to wait at thepredetermined position. If it is found in step S802 that a user 70 hasmade a request to provide a drink, the process proceeds to step S803. Instep S803, the moving controller 220 controls the moving device 208,based on the position information concerning the position of the user 70included in the request from the user 70, so that the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 will start to move to the user 70.

In step S804, the information obtaining unit 225 of the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 accesses the management server 60,obtains information concerning a personal or department scheduleassociated with this user 70 among items of information stored in theinternal information storage unit 621 of the management server 60, andtemporarily stores the obtained information in the information storageunit 222 as the first information.

In step S805, the information obtaining unit 225 obtains the secondinformation that is not associated with any user 70, such as a generaladvertisement, among items of information stored in the informationstorage unit 222, and the information presenter 226 presents (displaysor plays back) the second information by using the display device 209 orthe speaker 207.

The state of the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 in stepS805 is illustrated in (A) of FIG. 9. While the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 is moving toward the user 70, information that isnot dependent on any user, that is, information that is not associatedwith any user 70, such as an advertisement “we have started providingiced coffee” or “today, café au lait is half price”, is displayed on thedisplay device 209.

In step S806, the moving controller 220 compares the current positiondetected by the current position detector of the moving device 208 withthe position of the user 70, and determines whether the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 has reached the user 70. If theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 has not yet reached theuser 70, the process returns to step S805. The moving controller 220controls the moving device 208 so that the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 continues to display the second information, suchas a general advertisement. When displaying the second information,different items of second information may be displayed in turns atpredetermined regular intervals, based on the settings informationstored in the information storage unit 222. If the duration for whicheach item of information is presented is determined by the settingsinformation, when the presentation duration of a certain item ofinformation has elapsed, the information obtaining unit 225 may obtainan item of information to be subsequently presented from the informationstorage unit 222, and the information presenter 226 may present thisitem of information by using the display device 209 or the speaker 207.

If it is found in step S806 that the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 has reached the user 70, the process proceeds to step S807.In step S807, the moving controller 220 stops the moving device 208, andthe drink providing controller 221 causes the drink providing device 210to start to provide a drink to the user 70. More specifically, acontainer is provided from the drink container provider, and the drinkdistributor pours a predetermined amount of drink ordered by the user 70from the drink storage into the container.

In step S808, the information presenter 226 finishes presenting thesecond information. Then, in step S809, the information obtaining unit225 obtains information concerning a personal or department schedule ofthe user 70, which is the first information associated with this user 70and is temporarily stored in the information storage unit 222, and theinformation presenter 226 presents this information to the user 70 byusing the display device 209 or the speaker 207.

The state of the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 in stepS809 is illustrated in (B) of FIG. 9. The self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 stops at the user 70 to provide a drink, andinformation concerning a schedule associated with this user 70, forexample, information “a group meeting will start at 3 p.m. today”, isdisplayed on the display device 209.

In step S810, when the drink providing device 210 has finished providinga drink, that is, when the drink providing device 210 has finishedpouring a drink, or when the user 70 has removed a container with drinkfrom the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20, the informationpresenter 226 finishes presenting a personal or department schedule,which is the first information. The process then proceeds to step S811.Alternatively, even after the drink providing device 210 has finishedpouring a drink or even after the user 70 has removed a container withdrink from the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20, if thepredetermined presentation duration for the first information has notyet elapsed, the information presenter 226 may continue to display thefirst information until the predetermined presentation duration elapses,and then, the process proceeds to step S811.

In step S811, the information obtaining unit 225 obtains the secondinformation that is not associated with any specific user 70, such as ageneral advertisement, among items of information stored in theinformation storage unit 222, and the information presenter 226 presentsthe second information by using the display device 209 or the speaker207.

In step S812, the moving controller 220 starts to control the movingdevice 208 so that the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20will start to return to the predetermined position (home position), andthe information presenter 226 continues to display the secondinformation. After the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20has returned to the predetermined position, the information presenter226 finishes displaying the second information. The informationproviding system 10 completes the information providing processing.Alternatively, the process returns to step S801. The self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 restarts to wait at the predeterminedposition.

In the example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 waits at the predetermined position, and startsto move toward a user 70 in response to a request to provide a drinkfrom the user 70. Alternatively, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 may take the following approach. The self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 moves around within the workplace 100along a predetermined route and at the same time presents the secondinformation or the first information. In response to a request toprovide a drink from a user 70, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 separates from the predetermined route and moves to theuser 70. When providing a drink to the user 70, the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 presents an item of information thatis associated with this user 70, such as information concerning apersonal schedule of the user 70, among items of first information.After finishing providing a drink and the information, the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 returns to the predetermined routeand continues to display the second information or the firstinformation.

In the above-described example, when the self-mobile informationproviding apparatus 20 reaches a user 70 made a request, itautomatically provides a drink and the first information associated withthis user 70. Alternatively, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 may include an authenticating function for authenticating auser 70, such as an integrated circuit (IC) card reader, fingerprintauthenticating, or face authenticating using a camera. When the user 70is authenticated by using the authenticating function, the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 may start providing a drink and thefirst information associated with the user 70.

In the above-described example, the self-mobile information providingapparatus 20 is a self-mobile vending machine that provides drinks, suchas tea and coffee, in response to a request from a user 70. Theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 may be a self-mobileprinter that performs printing of a document in response to a requestfrom a user 70 or a self-mobile service providing robot that transportsan object other than drinks.

In the above-described example, when moving toward a user 70 made arequest, the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20 presents anadvertisement as the second information. However, the self-mobileinformation providing apparatus 20 may present news as the secondinformation. While moving toward a user 70 made a request, theself-mobile information providing apparatus 20 may recognize adepartment by which the self-mobile information providing apparatus 20is passing on the way to the user 70 and present the first informationassociated with this department, such as a company newsletter or anadvertisement.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information providing apparatus comprising: amoving unit that causes the information providing apparatus to movetoward a specified destination or along a predetermined route; anobtaining unit that obtains information associated with a currentposition of the information providing apparatus in accordance withmoving of the moving unit; and a presenting unit that presents theinformation obtained by the obtaining unit, wherein the obtaining unitalso obtains non-associated information that is not associated with auser located around the current position, and the presenting unitpresents the non-associated information together with the informationassociated with the current position in a mixed manner.
 2. Theinformation providing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a specifying unit that specifies a user located around thecurrent position, based on current position information concerning thecurrent position of the information providing apparatus, wherein theobtaining unit obtains information associated with the user specified bythe specifying unit.
 3. The information providing apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the specifying unit specifies a user located around thecurrent position as a group.
 4. The information providing apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a receiving unit that receivesa request to provide a service from a user, wherein, when the receivingunit receives a request to provide a service from a user, the movingunit causes the information providing apparatus to move to the user as adestination, the obtaining unit obtains information associated with theuser, and the presenting unit presents the information associated withthe user when the information providing apparatus reaches thedestination.
 5. The information providing apparatus according to claim4, further comprising: an authenticating unit that authenticates theuser, wherein, when the user is authenticated by the authenticatingunit, the presenting unit presents the information associated with theuser.
 6. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the non-associated information and the information associatedwith the user located around the current position are presented at apredetermined ratio in terms of presentation frequency or presentationduration.
 7. An information providing system comprising: a movingdevice; a storage unit that stores various items of information inassociation with positions; a specifying unit that specifies a currentposition of the moving device in accordance with moving of the movingdevice; an obtaining unit that obtains information associated with theposition specified by the specifying unit from the storage unit; and apresenting unit that presents the information obtained by the obtainingunit, wherein the obtaining unit also obtains non-associated informationthat is not associated with a user located around the current position,and the presenting unit presents the non-associated information togetherwith the information associated with the current position in a mixedmanner.
 8. The information providing system according to claim 7,further comprising: a receiving unit that receives a request to providea service from a user, wherein, when the receiving unit receives arequest to provide a service from a user, the moving device moves to theuser as a destination, the obtaining unit obtains information associatedwith the user, and the presenting unit presents the informationassociated with the user when the moving device reaches the destination.